Alicia Watkins Goes From Homeless Veteran To Student At Harvard University

In 2010, Alicia Watkins, a retired U.S. Air Force staff sergeant, shocked friends and family when she documented her travails as a homeless veteran on video for The Oprah Winfrey Show, reports the Huffington Post.

The 10-year-veteran, who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was left with a series of health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, and injuries to her brain and spinal cord, rendering her unable to work, notes the news outlet. Left with little money and few employment options, she became homeless and lived out of a car that she rented for $10 daily.

Now, nearly five years later, she is back with a different story. In a video submitted to Oprah: Where Are They Now, she is no longer homeless and is enrolled at Harvard University, the report says.

“I wanted to be able to care for wounded warriors, and so I decided to apply to Harvard University,” she says in the video. “In 2012, I was accepted. My college expenses are paid by the G.I. Bill.”

Her personal life has also made a dramatic improvement.

“I recently got engaged, on my birthday of all days,” she says. “It is amazing.”